The rest of you (mostly adults) please stand by unless you're interested in some cute family entertainment. This is essentially a modern day film/band version of the Partridge Family that was so popular in the ...?

For those of you who have been googling "Alex & Nat Wolf" or "Naked Brothers", and getting me, and God know what else in your search results instead, here are some links to help you get to the right place. Through the links below you can learn more about Alex & Nat, see clips of their movie trailer - The Naked Brothers Band, and even watch some of their music videos.

First up is their popular video from their documentary/mokumentary entitled: "Crazy Car" filmed at one of my son's favorite places, Coney Island in Brooklyn.

Next is a link to their official website where you can find more about them and their movie: The Naked Brothers Band

A suggestion to all of you who come here looking for info on Nat & Alex Wolf, please bookmark the links above, so you can visit them whenever you want to.

Also click through the following link and bookmark it, so you can search via Google the latest links/info on the Naked Brothers Band or you can bookmark the next link if you're doing a search for Alex AND Nat Wolf. If you have any links you want to share with others, please feel free to post them in the comment section below.

Thanks!

Posted by: Michele at 06:27 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Dear Santa:

How are you? IÂ’m fine. IÂ’m looking forward to your visit. I canÂ’t wait because I have been very very good this year. I have been so good I even got a Citizen of the Month award and go my picture in my local paper for returning money I found in the playground!

Here is the list of what I would like to get for Christmas. I know its more than my 5 gift limit but please remember that I have been very, very good and I returned the money I found. Please put an X next to the gifts you are giving me with the gifts so I will know which gifts I have to thank you for. I made a copy of this letter for my aunts and uncles so they can get me whatever gifts you donÂ’t give me. I know a few of them are expensive so if you want you can get me only one gift and my mommy and aunts and uncles will get me the rest. Okay here is the list: [snip]

[snip] I wrote this long list just in case there were a few toys you could not find you could then get the others.

Thanks a lot Santa! Oh and to make it easier for you I asked the super to leave the roof door unlocked christmas eve.

P. S. BTW, I would like the rainbow colored launcher.
P. P. S. I have a surprise for you when you visit. I have some very special treats for you this year.
P. P. P. S. IÂ’m sorry but itÂ’s not cookies and milk.
P. P. P. P. S. We are leaving out some fresh fruit salad to help you stay healthy and give you lots of energy.

Yes, he indeed did speak to the Super about leaving the roof door unlocked. It was also really hard not to laugh when I read my son's handwritten letter in front of him.

Posted by: Michele at 05:56 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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It was my son's first time on a hiking trail and he was very excited. So excited in fact that he disregarded safety warnings and went ahead of me. He thought the rock climbing wall we practiced on last week was enough preparation.

Fortunately, a State Ranger at the top pointed out the error of my son's ways to him and informed him of the large numbers of hungry bears looking for disabedient & silly children who don't mind their parents or follow rules.

Nothing like a little serious tale to persuade a child to respect the rules of hiking & climbing.

[Cross-posted at Postcards from NYC]

Posted by: Michele at 12:51 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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On the plane ride out my son became friendly with the young girl sitting behind him on the plane. I didn’t care for her as she was mouthing off to her parents whenever they corrected her behavior. When we got to the baggage claim area my son saw she had her cell phone in hand and immediately said to her: “I should get your number so we can maybe get together for lunch or dinner while we’re here.” The little girl eagerly began to rattle off her cell phone number which he promptly wrote down on the back of his coloring book with a crayon. All the parents stared at each other silently and in utter disbelief at what they’ve just witnessed. He’s 6 and making dates with a 10 year old, what am I to expect when he's 14. GASP!

Disney has an incredible interactive exhibit called Turtle Talk with Crush (the surfer’ turtle dude character in the movie Nemo) where children can learn more about turtles. During the exhibit a staffer (hidden from view) assumes the voice of Crush while a computerized moving image interacts with the audience. During our session, Crush showed the kids something he had found at the bottom of the ocean and asked the children in the audience what it was. After about 5 seconds of silence my son, who was sitting in front of the aquarium glass surrounded by other kids, stood up and said: “Crush, I can’t believe that a turtle like you, that’s 111 years old doesn’t know you’re holding a bra. I’m 6 and I know that.” At which point the audience broke into loud laughter while I , red-faced looked down at the floor, while Crush just swam with his turtle mouth wide open with a shocked expression on his face. Crush eventually said, after the laughter died down: “Dude, I’ve got nothing in response… I’m just speechless.” It truly was a funny priceless moment. The good thing was that my son was far enough from me that I didn’t have to claim him as my spawn. Sigh!

On my sonÂ’s birthday we had dinner reservations at one of DisneyÂ’s theme restaurants where we were to do a brief meet & greet with Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore & Piglet. I told my son in advance that they would not be able to sit and eat dinner with us because they had to be good hosts and welcome all their guests.

“Surely they can at least have dessert with us,” my son said to me. I could already see his little mind working at concocting a plan to entice one of the characters to sit for dinner with us. The character handlers were very good at keeping them moving and guiding the characters around the restaurant to each table. When Tigger came to our table for the third time my son lost no time in giving up his seat and asking Tigger politely if he would sit with us for a minute because he had something to tell him. Tigger quickly obliged him and sat down as my son said to him: “Tigger, I just wanted you to be able to sit down for a few minutes and rest, and if you don’t mind I’d like to ask you some questions.” He quickly began chatting away telling Tigger it was his birthday and how glad he was able to meet him and have cake with him, but wanted to know how he too could learn how to bounce as high as Tigger. He proceeded to show Tigger his jumping height/moves and before I knew it Tigger and he began bouncing around to the music being played over the loudspeakers. Suddenly a conga bouncing line was formed by kids of all ages that weaved in and out between tables and all through the restaurant. Tigger and my son had taken over the restaurant and there was little any of us could do but laugh and watch the ever-growing kid’s conga line as it snaked away.

HereÂ’s a funny t-shirt MAC slogan I saw at Magic Kingdom on Saturday:
Never underestimate the power of a stupid person ability to lead a large group into total chaos.

When I lived in Asia I learned to develop patience which still serves me well to this day. While on vacation, we ended each day by watching my brother in law trying to remember where he had parked the car. It didnÂ’t matter that I had written it down in my PDA. Nope, I was a non-driving girl so he never listened to me. After the 3rd time of his not remembering where he parked and not listening to the women folk, his sister and I would sit on the curb and watch a sort of blind manÂ’s bluff as he went around the parking lot pointing his key fob at every maroon car in sight, whether it was our make and model or not, hoping to hear the alarm for his car being disabled and the lights momentarily flashing.

What he managed to do instead was set off several car alarms, which caused the Disney police to show up. I swear they looked a bit like Keystone Kops they did! And as we sat there in the distance she and I would make up dialogue for the men that would make all of us crack up as we watched the directionally challenged and blind lead the funny Kops around the parking lot. Every night there was a bet as to how long it would take him to find the car and whether or not the Kops would show up. By the last night my sister in law and I were so tired and punchy we couldnÂ’t stop laughing all the way back to our hotel as we continued to make up dialogue for a scene that was now only taking place in our heads. Hmmm, I wonder what really was in those soda fountain drinks.

ThereÂ’s more funny anecdotes, but thatÂ’s all I have the energy for at this late hour. Today will be another long day of lots to do, deadlines and a few meetings I could easily do without. But I have vowed that nothing will change my cheery disposition now that I finally reclaimed it after many delays and problems at the airport.

More fun tales tomorrow!

Posted by: Michele at 12:52 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Another reason I love my Treo: it enables me to stay connected anytime & anywhere, thereby helping me keep my sanity.

I was visiting my mom this weekend when my son began not feeling well. 4 days later I'm still here. My son has been too sick to travel, requiring round the clock care.

Just when I thought he was OK & I could get a few hours of sleep, at 3am today his fever spiked to 104 and he started to throwup eveywhere. Lovely! It's a good thing I have a stong stomach.

So the exhaustion leaves me unable to think & with a constant headache. Blogging will resume once life gets back to normal.

Posted by: Michele at 07:13 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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After graduating from Kindergarden, my son is eagerly anticipating his next exciting event in his life; that of opening up his own savings account. 2 years ago, I realized that my son didnÂ’t understand the function of an ATM and a bank card. He was starting to believe that if I wanted to buy something all I had to do was go this machine, put a plastic card inside a slot, punch in some buttons and out would come lots of dollar bills.

So at age 3 and a half, I composed a list of what were his responsibilities (like putting toys away, brushing his teeth, putting dirty clothes in the hamper). So that he could remember and get used to things he needed to do to be responsible for himself. Then a few weeks later I introduced the concept of rewards, like ice cream for dessert (we normally didn't have dessert back then) for his extra help around the house like setting the table. After 2 months I introduced the concept of receiving money or an allowance for chores he would agree to do that were outside of his area of personal responsibilities. I also explained and showed him what doing a good job was and how if it was done well he would get a full allowance.

more...

Posted by: Michele at 12:43 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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I have the pleasure of hosting this week's Karnival and IÂ’ll start right off with a wonderful magical story written by airforcewife at her blogspot site - airforcefamily. It truly is a sweet tale of a magical moment between her and her children.

Robert, of New Victorian has a tender post about his baby reminding him to stop thinking about the future, and instead seize and enjoy the moment.

I can relate to Robert's experience, sometimes I've wished for my son to be a little older and other times, I've cried and wished for him to stay a toddler forever. The first time I went to the mall and discovered his clothes were no longer in the toddler section I cried. The same thing happened as I was writing about his graduation ceremony. ItÂ’s hard to let go sometimes.

Sissy, of And What Next, tells us her sister had the opportunity to shine under the bright lights of the tv cameras. At her site youÂ’ll find her first venture into the starlite by doing her first TV promo/news sequence. To watch the clip you must have either Real Player or Windows Media Player installed. If you don't have either, the site will provide you with links to download both.

From my blogsis, Val of One Happy Dog Speaks, we have a submission of Tounge Pictures. That is just too interesting a title to editorialize, so I'll leave at that. I too want to see what kind of hits she'll get from Google.

Our youngest participant, Brenna, seems to have hijacked her mom's site, Iowa Geek, to post her tips and really cool pics, on how she and her friends stay cool in the hot summer months. It's just too cute and funny to pass up - so please go see it!

Susie of Practical Penumbra, shows us a before and after pictures of her mom and brother that I found rather interesting. I especially liked how they have grown to look more alike than before.

My other blogsis, Sally of Whimsy Capricious, writes from across the pond how her precocious Tara is quietly terrifying her with her refrigerator magnets. Personally, I think TaraÂ’s simply exercising her imagination. I would only worry when she starts carrying hacksaws and butcher knives.

Over at FerdinandÂ’s, The Conservative Cat, he shows us his owners doing a bit of late Spring cleaning. For some reason, Ferdinand seems to be amused by their attempts at organizing their library!

In the Common Room, we find the Headmistress waxing poetic about a lovely pair of red boots, much like the kind Christopher Robin wears for his "expotitions".

Prochein Amy, shows us why her daughter giggled after she asked her to do a favor. I was amused by her daugher's clever use of space and sense of humor.

Contagion shares a humorous “Bad Dad” moment with us, with plenty of proof, over at his site, Miasmatic Review. It seems Clone's on his way to becoming a bartender.

Finally, we have a couple of cuties on display at ArmyWifeToddlerMomÂ’s site. ArmyWife shows us Pink Ninja's creativity and the end result of Dash's Perpetual Motion.

Posted by: Michele at 07:02 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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I don't remember my kindergarden graduation, if there was one. In fact, I never really cared for any of the graduations I've ever had. The only reason I attended my high school graduation was because I had three things to do during the ceremony. For my college ceremony I did double duty, making a speech as Undergraduate Student Gov't President and the only yearbook photographer available to take pictures.

Now that I'm a mom, I realize that graduation is about family and friends celebrating with their student their achievements and successes. For me my son's graduation was a day full of wonderful surprises. I not only received a little award from the kids for volunteering in their classroom. For me the greatest gift was the little story they wrote, which they printed on their pc, which included hand decorated color illustrations. I was truly touched. My son also received an award and wore lots of different hats during the ceremony. This is the same kid that usually hides behind me when we run into a neighbor or anyone tries to talk with him.

Here he is reading what the class picked out as their favorite story to share with their parent. I was so proud of him! I was just so amazed that his teacher worked with him to help him overcome his shyness enough for him to get in front of a crowd to read. I nearly cried, the only thing that stopped me was that I was recording the ceremony.

more...

Posted by: Michele at 11:42 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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1 Michele; You don't get it? It's called television. Much easier on parents than actually interacting with their kids for 45 minutes each day. ( I mean, if they really were concerned - 45 minutes? Sheesh.) Be proud of yourelf for what you've done/are doing for your son. It's the gift of reading that makes everything else possible.

Posted by: Light & Dark at June 30, 2005 01:22 AM (+Ds2b)

2 Congrats! I hope my boys can read as well as yours. Yep, my boys look forward to going to the library every week. It amazes one of my friends who boys have trouble reading. They never read to them, nor do they read themselves. Seems easy enough to me to understand the problem. You are doing a great job and I'm glad you are proud!

Posted by: vw bug at June 30, 2005 08:13 AM (/8HxP)

3 L & D beat me to it. T frickin' V. The nanny of now. Congrats on your son! Be proud!

Posted by: That 1 Guy at June 30, 2005 08:13 AM (Oa04K)

4 L&D and T1G have it right, alas. We had TV, but I also had a Dad who read to me, from the comics to more substantive fare. Mom did too, but I preferred Dad for the comics as he did better voices. This is fantastic, and I am so happy for, and proud of, your Son. You both rock.

Posted by: Laughing Wolf at June 30, 2005 08:30 AM (zI0Ey)

5 I don't think my parents read to me, but there were a LOT of books in the house. I picked it up pretty fast because I desperately wanted to know what the books said.

Posted by: Harvey at June 30, 2005 02:54 PM (ubhj8)

6 Congratulations to your son! My sister is just like you and your interactions with your son, her daughter is bright, loves to read and is very interested in learning everything. Contrast that with my cousins kids, whom get almost no interaction like that with their parents and the parents wonder why the kids are not at a level they should be at.

Posted by: Machelle at July 01, 2005 10:18 AM (ZAyoW)

7 Hey! Congrats! I, in fact, do remember my kindergarten graduation. Well, okay, not the actual ceremony itself. The gift afterwards. It was a plastic glow-in-the-dark Jesus! (Obviously, I went to Catholic school K- My brothers and I had a bit of fun holding it in the sunlight and then taking it into the closet to watch it glow. Yahoo! On a more serious note, as one who has been involved in teaching/training for my whole adult professional life I can tell you it is sometimes easy to spot those individuals who watched a lot, and I mean A LOT, of television when they were younger. I do believe that it does not just affect their reading; but also their ability to interact with others. People skills are best learned at a young age. Here's what I mean. When I am in front of a class explaining something there will be many faces that I can see a reaction on. These individuals will be nodding their heads as they seem to understand what I am saying, or maybe they are frowning if they don't understand. But there is some reaction. Then they are others whom, I believe, watched TOO much television when they were in their 'formative' years. There is NO reaction to anything I am saying. It doesn't matter if they completely understand or understand nothing that I am explaining. There is just a DULL VACANT STARE as if they are hypnotized or on drugs. They cannot be on drugs, can they? Can half my adult classes in the corporate environment really be spacing out from dope? Nope, it has got to be from television. As they watched too much television they did NOT have to interact with it. So, reading to your child AND talking about the reading is very good! Best of luck as your son enters the first grade!

Posted by: Charles at July 02, 2005 12:09 AM (thMu3)

8 I too have a hyperlexic child. Dash is 3 and is reading. People ask me what I did too. I answer just like you do. "We read every night". I get the same response as you. I am amazed at the amount of people who do not read nighlt to their children. It is a simple and easy, inexpensive ritual. It is nurturing and caring. I will add here, that my 20 month old, does not like the reading as much as Dash did at her age. She likes her dolls, dressing up, seems as if she is intereested in different social play. Different talents different children....same house.

Posted by: ArmyWifeToddlerMom at July 04, 2005 04:02 PM (Feujv)

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I've got nothin'! .... living in Manhattan can certainly suck the life force and creativity out of you in many ways. Being temporarily relocated here is bad enough, but having my son sick (Doc thinks it might be strep, might be an ear infection, or might be both) and being 90 minutes from his pediatrician, whom we both love, is even tougher. Right now it's a wait and see game. So I sit here, as he sleeps and wait. Making sure his temps don't spike up as they did last night; making sure he can breathe and there's no asthma complications, and just making sure he has a restful night's sleep while I watch, wait and see.

As a stress relief I thought I'd join the Karnival of Kids fun being hosted at Susie's, of Practical Penumbra, and share a bit of his silly and playful side with all of you.

Here we were at the Boat Basin in Central Park a couple of weeks ago, when suddenly he decides to lay down on his back and watch the clouds in the sky. As I snapped the picture he had just finished saying, "I love this place!" Yes, I do too. Get well soon my little cuddlebunny, 'cause I miss your smile!

Posted by: Michele at 10:02 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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My little cuddlebunny is not well again. On days like this we spend a lot of time sitting in my bed and either reading or watching kid shows on public television.

One show caught my attention this morning because I heard my son laughing so hard from the kitchen, it surprised me. It was a show called Jakers on PBS. When I walked in the bedroom to see what was causing my son's hysterics I heard a very familiar voice on the screen. I couldn't place the voice at first, but the cute little wooly sheep that was on the screen was funny and had lots of spunk and NY attitude which I enjoyed inmensely, so I decided to sit down and watch the show with my son.

Halfway through the show we were both laughing hysterically. My son and I agree, he's the funniest character in the show. It was one of the sheep's lines that helped me recognize the voice. Let's see if you recognize the voice; the line was: "It's good to be the king!"

That's when I realized, the familiar voice was that of the great comedien Mel Brooks. In Jakers, he plays the character of "Wiley - The Sheep. Wiley, a legend in his own mind, is a sheep that's imported from America to join Raloo Farm in Tara County, Ireland. His bio says that he's "more hip and aware than any of the sheep around him, and tries every trick in the book to get the flock to loosen up through song, dance, and anything else he can concoct in order to avoid standing around chewing grass all the time!"

By the time the show ended, I was getting flashbacks from all the times I've seen Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, History of the World, and Spaceballs.

After watching today's Jaker's episode I think I should rent Blazing Saddles and maybe History of the World so the lightness and laughter can continue the rest of the day. It was just what I needed to finally get me out of my funk.

As for all of you, "may the schwartz be with you!"

Posted by: Michele at 11:29 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 I think Mel Brooks should be awarded whatever the equivalent to sainthood would be for a man who disperses comedy! There is simply nothing better than great comedy - and few who do it as well as Mel! I need to get hold of Blazing Saddles again - haven't seen it for years!

Posted by: Teresa at April 24, 2005 01:00 PM (nAfYo)

2 Ah, yes... Blazing Saddles is one of my faves! Rent it and enjoy... and imagine me laughing my ass off with you! One of my favorite lines, was something along the lines of, "So what are your pleasures?" "HuH?" "What do you like to do?" "Play chess... screw..." "Let's play chess."

Posted by: That 1 Guy at April 25, 2005 10:25 PM (ywZa8)

3 "It's twue! It's TWUE!!!"

Posted by: _Jon at April 26, 2005 08:47 AM (ZM3Qb)

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